South Gyeongsang Province Sticks to Administrative Merger by Resident Referendum... "We Cannot Let Election-Driven Issues Ruin Our Future"

On February 10, South Gyeongsang Province reaffirmed its existing stance in response to a proposal by Kim Kyungsoo, Chair of the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy, to determine whether to pursue an administrative merger between Gyeongnam and Busan through a large-scale public opinion poll, stating that "a large-scale public opinion poll cannot replace a resident referendum."

The provincial government released a statement the same day, saying, "Article 5 of the Local Autonomy Act stipulates that, when local governments are merged, the opinions of local councils must be heard or a resident referendum must be held," and drew a clear line by adding, "An opinion poll is merely one method of gathering public sentiment and is not a procedure that can substitute for a resident referendum."

It continued, "Even if the results of an opinion poll showed that 51% of residents agreed to an administrative merger, the resident referendum process would still be essential to secure legitimacy," stressing that "any decision made without directly going through the hands of the residents would run counter to the trend toward local autonomy and decentralization."

Gyeongnam Provincial Office. Reporter Lee Seryeong

The province added, "In the opinion poll, 75.7% of provincial residents responded that the question of whether to merge should be decided by a resident referendum," and said, "Because issues such as the scope of autonomy to be secured through the merger and the name of the new entity must be presented and a sufficient deliberative process must be completed before a decision is made, a hasty opinion poll cannot be a substitute."

Furthermore, the South Gyeongsang Provincial Government stated, "We cannot allow the future of Gyeongnam, with its 130-year history, to be ruined by being swept up in an election-driven issue for the local elections," and declared, "We will pursue a properly designed merger rather than a poorly prepared administrative merger."

The province went on to explain, "At the beginning of this year, the central government sought to push for a merger before the June local elections, but recent remarks by the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior and Safety show that the position has shifted toward refraining from artificial promotion and focusing on substantive discussions," adding, "This proves that the direction taken by South Gyeongsang Province, which has consistently emphasized the quality of the merger rather than the speed of administrative integration, has been entirely correct."

It also said, "The central government has stated that there will be no disadvantages depending on the timing of the merger," and warned, "A hasty administrative merger could not only delay development for the next 20 years but could also threaten the very existence of Gyeongnam."

In addition, the provincial government added, "We will prepare thoroughly and turn an administrative merger, carried out by the residents and for the residents, into an opportunity for Gyeongnam to take a leap forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.